As The City Gears Up For The Next Financial Year, FPJ Talks To Newly Appointed Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee About The Municipal Finances, Politics In BMC And His Vision For The City. Excerpts:
You have been the state excise commissioner in your last posting. How different or difficult is it going to be working as the additional municipal commissioner of Mumbai?
Mumbai is a megapolis and the financial capital of the country. My responsibility includes the Revenue and Finance side, in addition to Water Supply, Sewerage and Sanitation Projects. In my previous stint, I was mainly involved in finance, taxation and enforcement issues, though at the state level, here I would be more intimately involved at the local level. The sheer size and complexity of a World City like Mumbai itself is a challenge and I’m looking forward to it.
Any vision for the upcoming budget?
I’m not at liberty to disclose anything regarding the budget at this stage. It shall be presented by the Municipal Commissioner shortly. Having said that, we all know that Union government has introduced the Goods and Services Tax Bill in Parliament which requires a constitutional amendment. If passed, entry 52 (which gives local self-government bodies the right to levy taxes like LBT or octroi) will cease to exist. In that case, octroi will be abolished from the date the act shall finally specify. The BMC will lose out on this large chunk of revenue from the specified date onwards. Of course, the government of India will reimburse the losses through some mechanism for the first five years. But in the long run, the BMC must come out with a viable economic model to make up for the loss.
What are the projects you are working on currently?
Right now I am very busy preparing the BMC’s annual budget (which will be presented soon). But we would want to speed up the work clearances for the Damanganga-Pinjar dams, the Gargai and Pinjar dams. We would also like to speed up the other water supply, sewerage and sanitation projects in view of the increasing population of the city. Currently we have 3750 MLD water available for the city while the demand will be more than5000 MLD by 2041. We are planning and implementing several projects to take care of the increasing need.
I would also like to pay detailed attention to the revenue and finance side and ensure revenue buoyancy and financial appropriateness for the Corporation.
But what is your pet project that you would want your tenure to be remembered by?
I don’t believe in announcements. I would rather do it and show it to you. But I would like Mumbai to be vibrant, active and a place where work gets done. I will work hard and give it my best.
There are a number of agencies governing different aspects of the city at the same time, including the MMRDA and SRA, does it affect your work?
All across the world, there are metropolises which are administered by multiple agencies. For example, in London, there are multiple administrative agencies like the City of London headed by the Lord Mayor, London headed by the Mayor and The London Metropolitan Development Agency. Whether there should be one agency or several is not something which is in the administrator’s hand. One has to work along with others in an administrative framework. Understanding and maturity are very important.
But how will you deal with political interference?
What you call political interference is sometimes simply a representation of popular demands, After all, in a democracy; everybody has the right to be heard out. Besides, every decision will displease a few people. They have the right to express dissent.
However, there are some incidents where various vested interests try to butter their bread in the guise of political interference. In that case, we have to realise that the law of the land is supreme. One has to administer the same without fear or favour. I, for one, shall try my best to uphold the rule of law.
